High Score
by ContinuousSpec
Summary: Four years after the Reaper War the galaxy is beginning to settle down. Shepard deals with her owns issues of settling down with Garrus. When Vega beat her high score at the Armax Arsenal Arena, she uses it as a chance to distract herself from the issue. Only to be confronted with the issue head on.
1. Beaches by the bedside

Their bed was nice and warm. Shepard could hear Garrus' footsteps while he was getting ready for the day. He tried to move quietly to not wake her. He should have known by now that wouldn't work. It never did.

She tried getting back to sleep and imagining herself on the beach, on the warm sand that use to burn her feet as a kid. She thought about showing him the pier that she grew up around. If it was still even there. She hadn't been back yet. There was hardly any time for those kinds of breaks.

There had been the half a year of her rehabilitation, of learning to walk and move again with her new left leg and arm. But by the time she had mostly recovered, they were back on the _Normandy,_ trying to keep the galaxy together by thin threads.

It had been almost four years, and smaller clusters and systems remained in the dark, the Citadel still hung over Earth, people were still fighting to stay alive, still dying. And there she was lying in bed, in their grand apartment, trying to imagine a stable galaxy again.

Those few short days of shore leave were the only breaks they had. Most times they didn't bother to take them. There was still so much work, to rebuild, to negotiate, to find homes and shelters for the billions of tattered families and war orphans. The logistics of what need to be done and what could be done were staggering.

There was a sense of uselessness staying in that hospital bed while others began to rebuild around her. Even now back on the _Normandy_ that sense was still there. She rarely leads ground teams anymore other than on good days. But when she did it was tiring work. Sifting through ruins, allocating limited resources, fighting mercenaries, and duking it out with the council.

It was almost like old times without the constraint of galactic destruction weighing down on them. But that pit feeling of useless was still there when she had stay on the ship. The Galaxy didn't have billions of credits to spend on her for a rebuild again. She was stuck with aches and pains and slow movements that she still wasn't use to.

Shepard sighed and slowly rolled onto her stomach. She needed to be out there fighting, even if it meant figuring out those damn logistics. At least she got to keep command of her ship.

A lot of things were said about retirement and children between her and Garrus. She even said she was game, but the Galaxy was in it is own recovery. It was hard to imagine her life outside the _Normandy_. And an active warship wasn't appropriate for children, maybe hamsters and fish, but not children. They weren't in that place for that yet. Would they ever be?

Would she be? Sure kids were cute. And did she find herself instinctively cooing at babies, human or turian alike? Yeah, but she had no clue how to raise them. She wasn't exactly raised in a stable home herself. It was abusive even.

It pained her to watch them; her childhood may have been hell, but she couldn't imagine seeing the war through a child's eyes. To go through all the grief and horror, the Reapers had to offer.

She had to do more for them. What she knew is what she could do best; she could argue and fight on their behalf. Making sure that every child had housing or shelter of some kind. But she knew that system. Even with the best programs in place there were always going to be kids who slipped through the cracks. She had.

Shepard winced and buried her head in the pillow. They still haven't moved forward with it. She kept saying she needed more time before considering. He always understood when conversations of adoption came up, but there was always that look of pain from him when she stalled on the issue.

The warmth of the bed allowed her to slip into fantasy again. They were on the beach, walking where the water met the sand. Watching as the waves lapped and covered their footprints. She was jokily trying to get Garrus in the water. Shepard smiled at the thought.

Images of oceans, of sand, and of small little footprints next to theirs disappeared as her omni-tool pinged with a new message. Shepard lazily brought it to her view.

An automated message from Arena Messaging Service blinked in her inbox, probably trying to get her to do some more promotional event for opening up again a few months ago. She opened the message and read, one sentence jumping out at her.

 _You established high score has been beaten by_ _ **James Vega.**_

Those words seared into her brain. That email was something Shepard dreaded that she would receive. But she knew this day would come. Of course it was him. Shepard smiled; this would be a nice distraction for the day.

Shepard had always been competitive, even as a child. Almost every arcade game on the pier had her name at the top. It was her way of leaving a mark on the world when she didn't have anyone but the Reds. Still even then that wasn't much.

Of course now there had been the constant recognition for the Skyllian Blitz, the Savior of the Citadel, and then the galaxy. But the sims were light and fun compared to that. It an easier way for the civilians to interact with her. She took on every ridiculous challenge they sent her because it gave her a sense of joy. It was a way to show them that there was going to get through this war.

And to think James' name was now above hers, after all that work. She was looking forward to taking on the challenge even if it was childish. But maybe every now then she needs to be.

The daydreams were shaken from her head as she threw off the covers. She got quickly as she could out of bed and to the bathroom mirror. She scrubbed at her face with water and whipped her hair into a loose bun. Her back and legs began to strain as she walked out of the bathroom.

"Muscles beat my high score," Shepard hissed as she moved to the closet towards Garrus.

Garrus laughed as he laid out his armor. "He's already back on the Citadel?"

"I guess, I don't know, maybe it's a glitch." Shepard hurried around him and began swiftly changing into hers sweats and sneakers.

"Sure, that's the only explanation that could knock the great Shepard's name from the top of scoreboards," Garrus said.

Shepard narrowed her eye at him and then grinned. "I'm going to go check it out, you coming with?"

"As much as I would love to watch you put Vega in his place, I've got a vid call meeting with Primarch Victus and few others from the Hierarchy," he said as he latched on his chest piece.

Shepard sighed. Her biggest plans for the day was to eat, sleep, and catch up on a hanar murder mystery series that Liara got her addicted to. After all today would be her only real break on the Citadel.

"You're almost suited up. It'll be quick! We can go in together and wipe his name from the list," Shepard said triumphantly.

Garrus laughed at her insistence. "Sorry, I guess this is what we get with being actually respectable."

Shepard groaned in response and playfully grabbed at his cowl to face her. "You know, you're supposed treat shore leave as an actual break right?"

"Funny, wasn't I saying the same thing to you, oh yesterday?" Garrus inquired as he lightly grabbed her around her waist.

Shepard narrowed her eyes at him again. She had spent half the day butting heads with merchants on getting deals on food supplies for the _Normandy_ and new weapons mods. Then she spent the other half bickering with the Council. Waving around Spectre authority can only do so much.

"Well, I'm a hypocrite. Do as I say and not as I do and all that wonderful wisdom," Shepard said as stood up on her tiptoes and snaked her hands around his collar.

"Hmm, anything else on the 'Do as I say' order?" Garrus asked in that oh so low tone that she loved.

"After I'm done kicking Vega's ass, and you're done with your meetings…" Shepard trailed off, teasing him with small kisses down his neck.

Garrus lightly moaned. "Well, keep going."

Shepard held in a laugh and continued. "Since the casino is back up and running I was thinking meet me at the bar and pretend we just met. I always liked that one."

"I'd like that too," he said as he pressed his brow to hers.

"You better," she snickered and began to squirm with impatience to check out the scoreboard.

Garrus mandibles flared out into a smile as he looked down at her. "Go, have fun," he said as she pressed her lips against his mouth plates one last time.

"You too with your meetings," Shepard smirked as went down on her tippy toes and made her way out of the oversized closet.

"I'll try," Garrus called out and went back to getting ready.

"Good," Shepard shouted as she ran out of the room. She was then out of the apartment in a matter of seconds, high tailing it to the Armax Arsenal Arena.


	2. A New Challenger Appears

Notes: Thank you for your patients and especially thank you to thievinghippo for the wonderful and helpful beta work! I hope you enjoy it! :)

* * *

The scoreboard loomed over Shepard. Her name was now in second place. It had remained proudly at the top since she had discovered the Arena. Until now. Shepard chewed into her left cheek at the sight.

Since the Citadel had become mostly habitable, the arena had reprogrammed the scoreboard to go over 9,999 points. Vega had even beaten her original score that broke the scoreboard. 14,450 points. _Damn._

Video replays of James repeated over and over of his victory. Spectators whispered and gossiped nearby as they watched her. She gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the onlookers as she threw her hood over her head.

Following horrendous tragedies, the entertainment industry usually flourished for distraction. That had been the case during the war, and it still was after. Even though most of the Silversun Strip had been heavily damaged, it became quickly rebuilt as the Citadel had become livable again. Some districts were still cut off to the public while construction worked on the strip.

The Citadel in pieces with millions dead, such a sight and ordeal, was not a distant memory for Shepard. Only four years and there still wasn't as much progress that she had hoped. Shelters and temporary housing had become almost permanent homes for some.

But to look at the surface of the strip, it was hard to imagine even a war had occurred. Bright neon lights filled her sight as new upgraded and coveted cars whizzed passed. Once this strip had been decimated, arena screens played static, inhabitants hiding in safety shelters, walls caved in.

Anderson's apartment included. Garrus and her apartment now. Not that they had put much use to it yet. Although Shepard felt the need to fix it in honor of Anderson-he'd given it to her after all- and she needed to watch over it. The windows were divided up to be smaller, and an extended wall was put in for Garrus' sake. She had to draw a line at weaponized wall fixtures and coffee makers though.

The ringing of laughter called her attention back down to the arena. A group of children ran around playing and watching the fights: Two humans, one turian, and one asari. The asari stood a foot or so from the others. She was probably about to hit maturity, in about ten years or so anyway.

They were duct rats or children from the shelters, orphans of the war nonetheless.

It was odd to her how they adapted to the violence. How could they become adjusted to enjoy these things again so quickly? Were they? Maybe this was their way of coping, to watch old enemies being defended.

Shepard's eyes caught those of the small turian girl; light blue eyes, similar Garrus', stared at Shepard as if she recognized her. She was probably about the equivalent age of nine or ten to a human. Shepard smiled at the girl and gestured her over. The child waved to her friends as she ran over to Shepard.

Guilt tugged at Shepard as she got a better look at the child. Her clothes, while clean, were loose fitting and ragged. The light yellow plates of her face were dull. She bore no markings; she probably wasn't old enough for them yet before the war. Or didn't remember how to put on her markings; parents normally did it for them until they learned. And the tattoos wouldn't come until she was much older.

Shepard went down at eye level to speak to the small child. Small aches in her left hip resurfaced. She really shouldn't have skipped her morning sketches.

"That doesn't look right now does it?" Shepard asked in a playful manner as she pointed to the scoreboard.

"No," the child squeaked out as her eyes fell towards her feet.

"Alright, so what do you think? Got any advice for me? Or do I not stand a chance?"

The girl's eyes went wide and up towards Shepard. The metallic voice thrummed with excitement as she spoke. "Well with your barriers you have an advantage, you can use the shields modifier that gives big bonus!" She paused, thinking of what to say next. "Um, maybe you could use a larger more elevated map to work with your skills, and, of course, more modifiers for points."

The way the girl went on made Shepard want to keep prodding her for more ideas. To see the joy in the child, Shepard couldn't help but grin.

"What kind of other modifiers? It's been awhile since I've done this kid," Shepard let out a small laugh as she watch the child ponder and think it through some more.

"Well, enhancing enemy damage and shields should be easy enough to deal with. As an infiltrator, it might not be the best to go without ammo so avoid the no ammo crates modifier." The girl's feet began to tap as she went on. "They still haven't improved the VI's on squadmates, so they aren't going to be much help. You'll want to keep some medi-gel on you as well."

"That's a very thought out answer; you didn't happen to help out Vega as well did you?" Shepard narrowed her eyes at the girl in jest.

"No ma'am," her voice was quick and little frightened at the suggestion.

"Relax, I'm just messing with you." Shepard rested her hand on the child's shoulder. She was very delicate and frail for a turian. That guilt tore even more at her heart at the realization. All that work with trying to set up well-performing shelters, and there were still children in these conditions. Outside her newly built apartment even.

Shepard gulped back and gave her a reassuring smile. "How do you know so much about these then?"

"My shelter's nearby, we come here a lot to watch. I'm too young to fight in the sims, but I watched a lot of your old vids that they play. I want to be able to fight like you." The child's voice filled with joy. The sound almost mimicked that of Garrus' whenever a new mod came in for his rifle.

The fact that fighting was the main thing that the child was looking forward to gave Shepard pause. A child who'd seen the worst that the Reapers had to offer. Shepard wished that there could be more in her own life.

"You've got a lot of time before that, but from the sounds of it you're definitely smart enough. What's your name?"

"Oronus, Aldia Oronus, ma'am" She stood straight and at attention as she spoke. A trait while well ingrained into adult turians, was not often seen carried by such a young child.

"Shepard is fine," she laughed, trying to get Aldia to relax. "Ready to watch me kick some, uh," Shepard paused, watching her language around a child, "to beat James?"

"Yes!" Aldia yelled with excitement. She began to move more freely, animating her speech with her hands. "Thank you, um, Shepard."

"No, thank you," Shepard said as got up and waved goodbye to Aldia.

The child had every reason to be one of those angry orphans grew up alone because of the war. But Shepard didn't see any sense of anger or sadness in Aldia. Even with the child's situation, there was a sense of hope.

As Shepard move towards the athletes-only area, she spotted James walking up and darted straight to him.

"Lieutenant-Commander," Shepard called out as she extended her arm towards him.

"Captain," James said with a laugh as his hand clasped hers.

Shepard smiled back and then grimaced. "Ugh, that still doesn't sound right."

She had to fight to keep her rank as low as possible. There was talk of promotion to rear-admiral. Promotions meant more desk duty and paperwork and less time out in the field. The increase in pay was nice for once, though.

"Lola any better?" He said as he nonchalantly looked over to the scoreboard. "You sure did get here quick."

"You know we live like 10 feet away, you could have just come to visit first?"

"A promise is a promise; I said I was going for a rematch after you beat my high score."

"Uh huh, looks like that N7 training really paid off then," Shepard quipped back.

"Oh you know it, those virtual bastards didn't know what was coming!" James triumphantly yelled as he threw his arms up. The red band of the same N7 sweater that she wore had already worn down. It suited him well.

"And the matching outfits don't hurt either," Shepard laughed and continued "What have you been up to?"

"My unit is going through the Terminus system, trying to find survivors in the newly built relay clusters," James said with a hint of mourning.

Sigurd Cradle, Despoina. Leviathan still lurked, waiting.

Shepard gritted her teeth together at the thought. The artifacts had been destroyed. The enthrallment team had undergone extensive psychological studies. For now it was safe. Although Shepard would remain comfortable and happy if the whole cluster remained in the dark.

"How many have you found so far?"

"Not enough. We've found remnants of those held up there for a bit. Usually, we haven't been able to get there in time," James looked up and watched neon lights of the strip. Searching for something, maybe just trying to avoid her gaze.

He continued. "Just coming back here, it seems like this hasn't been going on, that there are still people out there trying to survive."

"I know what you mean," Shepard said with a frown. "Just with rebuilding the apartment, I don't know, it seems like too much sometimes, the time and resources would be better going somewhere else."

Shepard glanced over at the children. There were still many trying just to survive on the Citadel. Although they had remained in the shadows. They were the ignored.

"You guys deserve it. And besides you shouldn't be working anyway. You need to be off and retired, like what old people do."

"Are you really going to go there?" She questioned as she tried to hold back laughter at his teasing.

She put on her best commanding officer scowl. All with the signature tightly crossed arms and annoyed grimace as she stared up at him. He was still the same damned boastful soldier that used to towered over her back in the _Normandy's_ cargo bay. Somehow he'd even grown larger with the N7 training.

James laughed at the attempt. "I'm just messing with you, Lola."

"Uh huh, come on let's get going," Shepard said as she moved down the stairs.

The children followed at their ankles until as they moved towards into the athletes-only area. Aldia ran over to the rails to watch Shepard.

"Looks like you got an admirer," James mused.

"She's cute," Shepard said as looked back at her and waved.

"Cute? Gone soft Lola? Should I be expecting little turian-human babies to be coming soon?" James asked as he bumped her with his elbow.

"Shut up," Shepard gave him a mock scowl and lightly shoved him along down the stairs.

"Alright, alright," James put his arms up in mock defense. "So ready to defend your title?"

"Oh hell yes, don't think you can just walk in here and replace me."

"I would never expect you to allow it Captain," James said with a smirk.

"Uh huh," Shepard narrowed her eyes at him as she made her way towards the game settings.

The enemy selection popped up into view. The Geth were the first to appear. It seemed wrong that they were still even in the game as an enemy. That constant and familiar tug of guilt began to strain on her more and more.

They were gone because of her; they helped take back Earth, and there still wasn't much headway with rebuilding them. Millions sentient being erased out of existences.

At least they were able to get EDI back, barely anyway; she still couldn't operate her "mobile platform". When her blue orb first flickered, and she spoke it had been the first time she'd seen Joker actually smile.

There was actually life behind that voice again as she told a simple joke. _Knock-knock._

 _Who's there?_ Joker had laughed as if it had been the funniest thing in the galaxy.

Whatever genius of Tali and Alliance engineers that got EDI back two years ago was still, however, a fruitless effort on the Geth. Restoration efforts were being blocked by the almost ever galactic government. How much time had she spent bickering in closed-door meetings on getting them back? Did it have to be this way? Were they ever going to move forward with this?

Shepard sighed and hit the skip selection passed the Geth, trying not to think it. That was work for another day.

Shepard scanned past the Collector and Reaper forces as well. They were repurposed beings that had lost their lives to the damn war.

Cerberus came up next; they might as well have been repurposed life. Shepard watched every recovered video from Sanctuary. Desperate civilians were forcefully drugged with Red Sand to increase indoctrination effects. A familiar itch worked its way through her arms. Shepard chewed angrily on her cheek as she tried to ignore it.

Shepard sucked in a breath and shook her shoulders lightly. But she fought best against Cerberus. Maximizing the score was her goal right now. She hit the activation key and moved to the next selection.

Shepard careful made her selection of elite fighters and modifiers from Aldia's suggestions. Then the squad selection. Without hesitation she choose the Garrus V.I. and stopped. With a smirk, she turned to Vega and chose his V.I. as her second squadmate. The choice was a bit to mess with him, but mostly he had worked with well her on ground missions. Besides Garrus, he'd been one few people that she trusted to be at her side in a fight.

"Oh come on now that's just cheating!" James playfully yelled while throwing his arms in the air for a good dramatic measure.

"I honestly think it puts me at a disadvantage. Just think of how many times I'm going to have to revive its sorry ass," Shepard laughed as he scoffed at such an accusation and made her way towards the locker room.

Her hands moved with ease over the old workbench settings. Methodically checking over her armor and weapons to see if they were still the same after all these years. Her smile persisted as she perfected it.

"Well if that's the case, you shouldn't be using Scars either. Speaking of which, where is he? Leave him at home?" James called over to her.

"He working, you know actually being productive rather than pretend shooting at fake enemies."

"Ah, that's no fun."

"I know right?" Shepard walked her way over to the elevator with a swagger. She activated the lift and then smirked. During those few nights of shore leave, she had the game down to a science. She'd be damned if she'd let some boastful new N7 come and take such a title away from her. Even if the title was something as frivolous and silly as best fighter at the Armax Arsenal Arena.

The elevator began to move her towards the battlefield. Shepard threw head back with a laugh to call James out one last time. "Now let me show you how it's done!"


End file.
